Credit unions are slowly and stealthily becoming a force in mortgage lending. We may not see any one credit union become consistently dominant, but CUs are certainly working together to promote their value. At any given time, you can expect one or more CUs to run an exceptional mortgage offer. A prime example was Meridian Credit Union’s 2.99% special that...

Do you want to monitor specific types of mortgage rates? For example: Rates on 5-year fixed terms with 120-day rate holds? 10-year fixed rates from brokers in British Columbia? Variable rates, but only from banks and credit unions? RateSpy makes it easy to monitor specific rate groups like this. All you need to do is create a custom rate URL,...

This week the Bank of Canada’s “benchmark rate,” a measure of 5-year posted mortgage rates, dropped to an all-time low of 4.99% (from 5.24%). The benchmark rate is an important number used by lenders to qualify you for a mortgage (i.e., calculate how big of a mortgage you can afford). It’s also used as the basis for: •   Cashback mortgage rates •   Rate guarantees –...

After a six-month hiatus, 2.99% five-year fixed rates are making a triumphant return. You’ll start seeing brokers quote them online by next week. It may take major banks a bit longer to catch up (assuming rates keep falling). For the time being, however, these 2.99% specials may come with restrictions like 30-day closes, no pre-approvals, etc. Some feared 2.99% five-year fixed...

You can now email the Top 10 rates you find to anyone you like. Simply click the “Email Rates” icon on the homepage and away you go. The rates emailed are based on the rate search criteria you set. This new feature is part of the Spy’s redesigned and simplified rate search controls. We hope you like!

The two most popular mortgage terms in Canada are the 5-year fixed and the variable. They account for the lion’s share of mortgage searches on RateSpy.com. For that reason, the Spy has two new dedicated rate pages: Best 5-year Fixed Mortgage Rates Best Variable Mortgage Rates

Sometimes you want to quickly compare the best rates for several terms at once. For this purpose, we’ve created the rate comparison tool. First pick your province and the number of rates to display. The comparison page then returns every lender and broker serving that province. Quick tips: Click on any rate to make the Mortgage Intel window appear with...

Mortgage blogs are a dime a dozen, so we’ll keep this one on point. Spy Blog will have two missions only: 1. Deliver essential elements of information on key rate related topics; and 2. Brief the community on the latest mortgage tools from RateSpy.com. If you have ideas for a rate topic you want analyzed, email us 24/7 at info...